


White Noise

by AnotherAspiringAuthor



Series: A Million More [2]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angry Tony Stark, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Companion Piece, Everyone Loves Peter Parker, F/M, MJ-centric, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Endgame release, Pre-Relationship, the snap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16022039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherAspiringAuthor/pseuds/AnotherAspiringAuthor
Summary: One week since it happened. One week since dust suddenly coated the streets and buildings. They might have had a million times, before or after, to say it to one another. But this? This is not one of those times.MJ's perspective on the Snap, and what comes after. Companion piece to 'Little Wing'





	White Noise

**Author's Note:**

> A companion piece to Little Wing. A lot shorter than that fic, a little darker and hopefully just as good. Enjoy!

The end times, they were calling it. The devil throwing a stone at the settled Earth, god practicing judgement upon the wicked. Yada yada, yada. Of course when half the population gets wiped out, it’s the religious nutjobs left over.

It’s been one week since _it_ happened. One week since half a schoolbus of kids disappeared, dust coating MJ like a cruel kind of second skin. One week since she walked in to an empty household, devoid of any life asides from the noise of the television turned on and her mother’s ashes on the couch. The television screen is empty; dust lies on the newsreaders desk.

Six days since Tony Stark turned up on her doorstep, tired, haggard. Angry. There’s fire in his eyes, a dark, burning rage in him. He’s flanked by Ned, May, Dr. Banner.

‘He didn’t make it.’ Stark choked out. Behind him, May’s stony face twitches. Her eyes look swollen, her hands look shaky. Another member of family, gone. Dust. Not even a body to bury, a hero to mourn. Ned looks…she’s quite how to describe it to be honest. Lost. He’s lost a brother, lost his hope. Lost.

And MJ? She’s just numb. And pissed. _Unbelievably_ pissed off. At the world, at fate if such a stupid thing existed snd on some level, she hates Tony Stark, hates him for getting a boy too good for this wor-this _galaxy_ -mixed up in a war most grown adults had no business fighting in. Hates him for returning with nothing but anger, hate, a deep and lonely sadness.

On another level, she bonds with him over it. MJ, Ned, May. They all move upstate after that to the Avenger’s facility. Ned’s father isn’t returning his calls, May doesn’t want to be alone and MJ…MJ just wants to be somewhere where there isn’t dust. Everywhere you looked in New York ,there was dust. In the wind, on the streets, on peoples gloves, their boots, the windows of buildings. It’s like a huge, jagged scar on the fabric of reality, an atrocity. A calling card. Love from Thanos.

She doesn’t sleep much in those four, five weeks as they work. The few hours she does get, only out of necessity are haunted by images of a smile that made her heart beat faster disappearing into dust; hands, capable of a frankly _ridiculous_ amount of strength, reaching out, clutching as a voice begs for help, for comfort, for-

Yeah. She doesn’t sleep much. Tony outright refuses to sleep, with coffee and this burning inferno of hate driving him as he works for revenge. They find each other in one anothers company a little much for each other’s liking.

‘I’m sorry.’ He would say, occasionally. She can see it in his eyes, guilt gnawing away at him, eating at him like an infected wound. Some part of her feels sorry for him. The rest of her has to resist punching him in his stupid nose and pointing him towards his lab to get back to work. She wants that big purple fuckhead dead just as much as anyone else.

Instead, she nods. Looks down at her hands and simultaneously tries and tries not to remember the feel of a dead boys hands in her own, pulling her along, excitedly talking with that contagious enthusiasm.

‘Make Thanos more sorry.’ She states very simply. Every time. And when she meets Starks eyes, there’s a warm sort of respect in them, along with a promise.

It’s one dark week is what she’s trying to get at. She’s just...lost and numb and trying her hardest not to feel that gaping black hole in her heart. She despises herself for not pulling Pete when Ned makes a distraction for him. Hates herself for not calling out to him or telling him she loved him alongside fifty-billion other things. She knows it isn’t fair or helpful to anyone else, especially May, retreating into this distant exterior. She knows Peter would want better. She hates herself even more.

Ned’s just as bad. They spend a lot of time together, reassuring one another constantly. _It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t stop him. You didn’t know the stakes. It wasn’t your fault._

It doesn’t help much but it’s better than stewing alone she supposes.

And then suddenly, there’s hope. Another Captain, thankfully not America, shows up. Tells them a galaxy-wide genocide can be undone. Revenge and hatred isn’t all they have left.

She’s not technically supposed to be sitting on the meeting but there’s a lot of empty seats in the conference room and no ones feeling brave enough to tell her to get out when they enter. There’s a stunned kind of quiet after Danvers gives the news out, paints a general plan. Then Tony stands. The fire in his eyes is still just as strong but now it seems a little less all-consuming.

‘We called ourselves the Avengers.’ He states to the quiet room. Steve’s looking at him with a sort of quiet sadness. Michelle wonders briefly if Stark had always been so angry. She doesn’t think Peter would have looked up to such a pissed off character as a role model.

She thinks she would have liked to meet the Tony Stark that Peter knew. He seemed like a good man. A more responsible man than the arms dealer, a more responsible man than this soul driven by a sole desire for revenge. She can see he has his doubts but he’s not the type of man to let that stop him. He was Earth’s greatest defender for a damn good reason.

‘So let’s go earn our title. If we can’t save the world-‘

‘We can damn well avenge it.’ Rogers finishes, standing with him. And now they have a purpose. They have hope and more than a little bit of anger to drive them back into war.

Tony pauses on his way out of the room once the meeting ends. Places a hand on her shoulder and if he wasn’t one of about four people who gave a shit about Peter, she would have moved to break his wrist on the spot. His love for Peter is one the thing that redeems him when the wound of loss is so fresh and raw and angry.

‘You’ll be seeing your webhead again soon. I promise.’

Michelle looks at him, eyes steady. Some part of her, the old MJ that was around before the universe turns on its head crawls out.

‘And you’ll be seeing your kid soon. Make sure you look after him when you do or I swear to _god_ , I’ll do worse than drop a moon on your head you son of a-‘

 A startled little laugh erupts out of him, cutting her off and the burden in his eyes eases a little for some reason. He pats her again on the shoulder.

‘Yeah, I see why he liked- _Likes_ -you.’ And when he leaves, maybe, just maybe, she’s letting herself hope a little again.

* * *

 

 Before they all pile in on the blue lady’s ship, flying off to get some payback and right the biggest wrong ever committed against nature, she catches Stark. He’s suited up, running diagnostics from the way he’s murmuring to the A.I in his helmet. He stops when she sees her patiently waiting. There’s a sharpie in her hand.

‘I’d like you to give Thanos a message from us.’ She gets straight to the point. Her throats a little sore from all the crying she's done at night but her back is straight and there's a fierce fire in her eyes.

‘And what’s that kid?’

She holds her sharpie up in response. Motions for him to hold his arm out. He does it and although the armor is up she can still see the kindly amusement in the way he moves. She scribbles, just above the knuckles.

_From May, Ned, MJ and Peter. New York sends its love, you big freaky bastard._

It’s small, scrunched in to fit the suit and she has to really scribble it in at places until it’s clear on the armor. Tony takes a look at it and laughs. He’s still angry, rage stewing under the surface but his eyes look far less gaunt, his back a little more straight. He thinks they’re in for a solid shot with this.

‘Shit, I’ll make sure it gets delivered up close and personal kid. Scouts honor.’  He even crosses his heart over the suit and all. MJ smiles a little at that.

Hope. It does funny things to a person.

Later she finds out before he dies, Thanos paused, a black smudge on his cheek from the right hook delivered to him from one Tony Stark. According to Steve (When had she got on a first name basis with the Avengers?), he followed it with a left and a blast from his center arc reactor.

 _And that ones from me_ , he had snarled like a feral wolf before launching on with his attack.

She warms considerably to Tony after that. She's not quite at forgiveness just yet, but she’s trying. She thinks Peter would be proud.

* * *

 

 

_Peter. Alive. Real.  
_

Michelle can’t even be bothered pretending not to cry when he steps foot from the ship. It came back far more crowded than it had left but honestly, there’s only one face she’s interested in seeing again.

He walks with the same bounce in his step as always, the same bright look in his eyes and smile. It’s only later she realizes there was a slump to his shoulders, a more tired, adult air about him but right here, right now, all she’s bothered about is getting that adorable little shit in her arms and making sure he’s real.

It’s a big old regular piley-on as the three of them-Ned, MJ, May-reach him all at once. He staggers, stumbles, falls with a laugh as he does his best to wrap his arms around them all. And then he’s crying, May is just outright sobbing and kissing his cheeks, Ned rambling ‘you’re back, you’re back, holy _fucking shit, you’re back_.’ And MJ?

MJ’s a goddamn mess like everyone else. She lets the tears fall freely and buries her head into his neck and inhales. He smells of battle, smoke and blood but those foreign smells are all underut by _him_. That smell of new books and home and something just remarkably _Peter_.

His hand is on the back of her head, carding through messy hair like he’s marveling in her for a second before he pulls her close and breathes out _I love you_ like a quiet breeze of wind.

And yeah, her heart thuds painfully, her throat burns like a bitch but doesn’t that just make the past month a lot easier? And then he’s saying it again, desperately, relentlessly to all of them almost like a prayer.

I love you, I love you, over and over again as he clutches back onto them and refuses to let go. I love you as he reaches up and pulls Aunt May down for a messy kiss on the cheek. I love you as he drags Ned in to bump heads and hug. I love you, again, as he reaches for her and brushes his lips against her cheek. He’s almost delirious. Drunk almost, like he’s relishing in the feeling of life again.

Michelle feels like she’s just stepped into an icy shower after the longest, most humid summer day. She relates.

And you bet your sweet ass she’s the last person to release her hold on him.

Somewhere off to the side, as teammates reunite and families cry, Tony sits alone. His armor bleeds away and it’s just him, the grass underneath him, the sun above him. He doesn’t feel lonely. He just wants a moment to drink it all in. Victory out of the impossible. Life from dust. Pepper approaches from the compound and he can already see her smile lighting up the world a little more.

Tony breathes. Closes his eyes. By the time Pepper reaches him, Steve peeling off to follow, they find him asleep and taking what is perhaps the galaxy’s most well-deserved nap.


End file.
